Constitution Party Ditches Gay Candidate Over His Support Of Marriage Equality

By
On Top Magazine Staff
Published:
August 14, 2014

The Idaho Constitution Party has
ditched its openly gay gubernatorial candidate over his support of
marriage equality.

Steve Pankey lost the party's
endorsement after he publicly called on Idaho officials to stop
defending in court the state's constitutional amendment defining
marriage as a heterosexual union, Boise
Weekly reported.

Though gay, Pankey, a 63-year-old born
again Christian, has said that he has been celibate since he accepted
Christ.

Floyd Whitley, the party's chair,
criticized Pankey's endorsement of marriage equality, saying that the
Constitution Party's platform has “been clear as to its principled
opposition to homosexual perversion.”

The Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based
Constitution Party asserts that the United States is a Christian
nation founded on the principles set forth in the Bible. Its critics
have described it as a theocratic party.

During its August 1-2 convention,
Whitley led a successful effort to rescind the state party's support
of Pankey.

Though stripped of the party's
endorsement, Pankey remains a gubernatorial candidate and will appear
on the November ballot as a Constitution Party candidate. The Idaho
Secretary of State's Office explained this was because there is no
policy in place for a party's rejection of a candidate.